InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Don't blink."

jlroberson (jlroberson) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-08-16 03:16:00

Current location:	Seattle
Current mood:	angry
Current music:	The Fixx
Entry tags:	char: rog-2000, creator: joe staton, creator: john byrne, creator: nick cuti, genre: parody

Two Parodic Views of John Byrne
Both from E-MAN, but two different periods of the book.

First, from Charlton's E-MAN #6, Rog-2000 confronts his creator.(written, however, by Nick Cuti)

Second, from First's E-MAN 2 & 3, written by Martin Pasko and drawn by Joe Staton, "Companyman," henchman of "Stanley Presents." (That's Shooter, of course, in the middle) Not only was this in the midst of an X-Men parody, but also controversy over work-for-hire contracts (though predating the Kirby art fight). In fact, that was the true target of the parody--Marvel's treatment of creators. The reference, which certainly no one remembers now, is to an opinion piece Byrne wrote in COMICS SCENE where he declared himself proud to be a "company man," and proposed a rather absurd concept: "If there are creator's rights, there should be creator's wrongs." Meaning that if a comic takes a loss, so should the creator. Some thought this a somewhat...servile thing to write. Gold star to someone who can hunt up the article.

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	thandrak 2009-08-16 11:34 am UTC (link)
	There's also the Destroyer Duck version. Cogburn? Gerber later claimed it wasn't a reference to Byrne, but the beard and attitude was distinctive. (I havn't seen my Destroyer Ducks since the early 90s, so, no, I can't share.) (Reply to this) (Thread)

	jlroberson 2009-08-16 02:01 pm UTC (link)
	I WISH I had scans of that one, at least the Gerber five. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	thandrak 2009-08-16 05:24 pm UTC (link)
	Working on it, then. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	shanejayell 2009-08-16 12:08 pm UTC (link)
	Erik Larsen also did "Johnny Redbeard" who redesigned super characters with fatal flaws. A green skinned heroine who talked to invisible people, a amnesiac atlantian prince and a hero with a protective aura that repelled soap. They were called the "Nixxed Men." (Reply to this) (Thread)

	jlroberson 2009-08-16 02:02 pm UTC (link)
	I have got to go find some Savage Dragon if it's at all like this sounds. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	shanejayell 2009-08-16 02:16 pm UTC (link)
	lol Wasn't bad. Larsen even used several of the characters in ongoing storylines, turning the She-Hulk character into She-Dragon and having a villain plot to steal Johnny's character creating powers. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	une_croix 2009-08-17 02:00 pm UTC (link)
	It's a great series, and sorely under-appreciated. Larsen has always done whatever the hell he's wanted with SD, and there's no better proof of that than that he's still pumping out the issues, despite sales being less than stellar (Obama cameos not-withstanding). I'll try and post some more from it over the coming weeks. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	cmdr_zoom 2009-08-16 04:03 pm UTC (link)
	Jim ~~Shooter~~ Sniper - so tall he can't be contained in one panel. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	perletwo 2009-08-16 06:15 pm UTC (link)
	And wearing Adventure Comics-era Colossal Boy gloves, the Legion fangirl in me loves it. :D (Reply to this) (Parent)

	ashtoreth 2009-08-16 05:36 pm UTC (link)
	This isn't really funny, though I do enjoy the resemblance of ~~Stan Lee~~ Stanley Presents to J. Jonah Jameson. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	foxhack 2009-08-16 07:01 pm UTC (link)
	He reminds me more of that guy who did artwork for Marvel. I wish I could remember his name... (Reply to this) (Parent)

	perletwo 2009-08-16 06:17 pm UTC (link)
	I can't read Companyman's T-shirt. "It's a (something) It's a (something) It's Companyman!" Anyone help me out with the joke? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	fungo_squiggly 2009-08-16 06:38 pm UTC (link)
	"It's a cog, it's a wheel, it's companyman." (Reply to this) (Parent)

	jupiterrhode 2009-08-16 06:39 pm UTC (link)
	It's a bird, it's a plane? (Reply to this) (Parent)

	(Anonymous) 2009-08-16 06:41 pm UTC (link)
	cog wheel (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	jlroberson 2009-08-17 01:24 am UTC (link)
	A reference to Byrne saying, "I am a cog in the machine that is Marvel Comics and I'm proud of it." (Reply to this) (Parent)

	geoffsebesta 2009-08-17 01:57 pm UTC (link)
	what's with the wigs and the armadillo? (Reply to this) (Thread)

(Anonymous)
2009-08-17 08:33 pm UTC (link)

Rascally = Roy Thomas, King = Jack Kirby, Sturdy = Steve Ditko. I think this is a reference to how, despite being integral to Marvel during the 60's and 70's, they weren't the ones calling the shots (I know Thomas left because of Shooter, and I guess Kirby might've left for about the same reasons. I don't know about Ditko, though, since he actually came back to Marvel to do some work)

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	halloweenjack 2009-08-18 04:58 pm UTC (link)
	Even though I was still a Byrne fan when that second parody came out, I thought that it was dead-on--I think that the way that he's churning out pages was a commentary on Byrne writing and drawing at least two titles at that time (FF and Alpha Flight) and the resulting drop in quality really showing up in the books. (Reply to this)